1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to an automatic compact fluid operated icemaker arranged within a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Household refrigerator/freezers are commonly sold with an icemaker, which is a great convenience to the consumer. Icemakers can be generally categorized into two classes based on the manner in which the ice is harvested from the ice cube tray. The most common method is for the ice to be formed in an ice cube tray incorporating multiple ejectors that forcibly eject the ice from ice cube recesses in the ice cube tray, typically defined by a metal mold. The other class of icemakers has ice cube trays that are inverted to expel the ice cubes from the ice cube recesses of the ice cube tray. These icemakers are usually made from a plastic material and are generally referred to as flextrays.
In the metal mold class of icemakers, it is common to use a resistance wire formed in the ice cube tray to heat the tray in order to melt the ice cubes at their interface with the tray, thereby enhancing the likelihood that the ice cubes can be successfully harvested from the tray. Unfortunately, this arrangement has many drawbacks. The heater that is used to heat the tray often is rated at 180 watts and thus contributes to energy use. Further, during each harvest cycle the freezer temperature is elevated. Along with the energy concerns, the resistance wire approaches are undesirable due to their cyclic temperature loading of the freezer compartment. The higher temperature swings of the freezer result in increased occurrences and severity of freezer burn, as well as an increase in sugar migration within products. The sugar migration specifically shows up in ice cream products.
In the flextray version icemaker, a rotational force is applied to an ice cube mold to impart a stress by flexing a plastic tray, with the flexing generating enough pressure on each ice cube to forcibly remove the cubes from the mold. In the flextray icemaker, the system repeatedly stresses the mold to a high level to guarantee ice cube release. This cyclic high stress has a degrading effect on the plastic and causes failure of cubes to release, or even worse a breakage of the mold. Without proper cube release, an over-fill event will occur. With a breakage of the mold, an even worse case of continuous water flow into the product can occur until it is sensed or the consumer intervenes.
Even with devices such as ejectors and heaters to aid in the harvesting of ice cubes, ice cubes can still become stuck in a tray. A stuck ice cube can result in an over-fill condition for the ice cube tray since the ice cube tray is typically filled with a predetermined charge of water based on the total volume of the ice cube recesses. In an over-fill condition, the excess water will spread across the multiple ice cube recesses and, upon freezing, form a layer of ice connecting the individual ice cubes, which further increases the likelihood that the ice cubes will not be harvested.
If the icemaker has a mechanism for detecting such an over-fill condition, the icemaker is shut down until the stuck ice is removed, resulting in a loss of ice production for the consumer. If the icemaker does not have an over-fill detection mechanism, the icemaker will continue to introduce water into the ice cube tray, which will eventually flow into the freezer to form a large block of ice, which is a great inconvenience to the consumer, especially if the ice forms on items contained within the freezer.
Based on the above, there still exists a need for an automatic icemaker system that will eject ice without using heat or flexing a mold that is subject to breaking. More specifically, there exists a need for an automatic compact fluid operated icemaker that produces ice without any of the drawbacks listed above.